25 years in jail for two murders

Windhoek-The man who in January was convicted of killing two people was yesterday sentenced in the Windhoek Regional to an effective 25 years behind bars.

Hendry Klein, 25, was sentenced to 20 years on a count of murder and 10 years on a count of culpable homicide of which five years were suspended on condition he is not convicted of an offence in which violence is an element during the period of suspension.

Klein was on trial for murdering Eddy Afrikaner, 31, by stabbing him in the chest with a knife in Katutura on March 31, 2012, and killing Charles Adonis Eichab, 26, whom he stabbed with a knife at Havana informal settlement on December 31, 2015.

At the time of the killing in 2012, Klein was 19, and in 2015 at the time of the second murder, he was 22 years old.

Handing down the sentence, Magistrate Elina Nandago noted that although Klein killed two people he did not show any glimpse of remorse. “Two young lives were cut short unnecessarily and for no reason. It is a clear indication that sentences given out by the courts to convicted offenders are taken very lightly,” said Nandago. Klein pleaded not guilty to the charges when his trial started last year in July. In his defence, Klein said he acted in self-defence when he stabbed and killed Afrikaner and Eichab.

According to witnesses who took the stand, Klein had confessed to killing Afrikaner. He stabbed Afrikaner out of revenge as Afrikaner had killed Klein’s uncle, according to witnesses.

The killing of Eichab took place on New Year’s Eve at a local bar in 2015. According to witnesses, Klein stabbed Eichab because he refused to share his drinks with him. There was no trouble between Klein and Eichab before the stabbing.

“The accused did not show any remorse – all he did after his conviction was to show aggression. It is clear that the accused does not care that he took away the lives of two young people,” said Nandago. Menencia Hinda prosecuted with lawyer Quine Fenyeho appearing for Klein.